#li qingzhao

[asoftepiloguemylove]

ON DREAMS

Clarice Lispector / pinterest / Augusto Cury / Li Qingzhao (tr. Jiaosheng Wang) Tune: The Pertridge Sky; Complete Poems / unknown / Blade Runner 2049 (2017) dir. Denis Villeneuve / Victor Hugo from a letter to Adèle Foucher written March 1822 / unknown / Charles Dickens The Fellow of No Delicacy; The Tale of Two Cities / Anaïs Nin The Diary of Anaïs Nin / Sappho XII / Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai dir. Jim Jarmusch

[garden-ghoul]

Happy Gushiwensday Shabbes! We have another Li Qingzhao for you tonight, to the tune of "Dream Song."

I'll always remember the water pavilion at sunset. Hah--I say that--I was so drunk I didn't remember my own address. But I remember I was done with the whole evening. Told you to get in and turn the boat around. You--you--accidentally drove it into a bunch of lotuses. We were fighting to get free, fighting the oars and cursing the boat, and up from the shallows--startled by the noise-- came a whole flock of waterbirds.

"Notes" and original text under the cut!

如梦令·常记溪亭日暮

常记溪亭日暮，沉醉不知归路。兴尽晚回舟，误入藕花深处。���渡，争渡，惊起一滩鸥鹭。

This time I don't actually have any notes, I just have a boring literal translation that I've prepared so you can see what's there in service of tone and what's from the actual text. You see, the (machine translation of) Baike's modern translation contains: "The sun was already setting, and I was lost in the beautiful scenery, forgetting my way home." I just thought it was so funny as a contrast to how I interpreted the poem that I had to go all the way to 11. So here's my literal.

I'll always remember the water pavilion at sunset. I was drunk and didn't know the way home. I'd lost interest in the evening and turned the boat around, and accidentally went into the middle of all the lotus flowers. We struggled to row; we struggled to row; and startled into the air, from the shallows, several waterbirds.

[beyourselfchulanmaria]

武陵春 / 宋代 李清照 Li Qingzhao, Song dynasty　

　　　

風住塵香花已盡，日晚倦梳頭。物是人非事事休，欲語淚先流。　　

聞說雙溪春尚好，也擬泛輕舟。只恐雙溪舴艋舟，載不動、許多愁。

About this poetry (First of 2 paragraphs), She wrote it about Flowers has fallen on everywhere and the dust also filled with its flavor. and her husband had died, Everything were changed so she tired of combing her hair, then tears fall before talking in usual. (The last 2 paragraphs), She only fear the boat It could not carry her huge sadness on that river. In short, she had bear all the bitter feelings for alone with homeless that sad mind in the war at that time.

此詞描述她的晚年避難於���華期間，當時在紹興四年（西元1134）金與偽齊合兵南犯以後。那時，他的丈夫已病故，家藏的金石文物也散失殆盡，作者她孑然一身，流離失所在漫天烽火中飄泊，歷盡世路崎嶇和人生坎坷，因而詞情極為悲苦。上片就是訴說著眼前景物之不堪，心情之淒苦。下片藉以江水上的小船更深一層的表達，恐是無法承載她那沉重的悲愁。

▪︎ 李清照，（1084－1155）宋代，濟南（今屬山東）人。中國歷史上最著名的女詞人。自號易安居士。同是宋代的理學家朱熹(朱子)曾說：「本朝婦人能文者，惟魏夫人及李易安(李清照)二人而已。」幼有才藻，她工詩能文，詩尤為宋代大家，十八歲適金石家趙明誠，夫婦感情甚篤。宋室南渡之前，李清照生活美滿，前期作品熱情活潑，明快天真，多寫少女生活的無憂無慮，以及婚後的離別相思，充分表現女性閨閣的感情。南渡後其夫病故，她顛沛流離於江浙皖贛一帶，在孤寂中度過晚年。後期詞融入家國之恨與哀其身世又晚景淒涼之感，風格頓變。暮年飄零後，感情基調轉為凄愴沉鬱，如《聲聲慢》「尋尋覓覓，冷冷清清，凄凄慘慘戚戚」。她兼擅令慢，每能創意出奇，以經過提煉的口語表達其獨特真切的感受，形成辛棄疾所稱道的“易安體”。據《宋史·藝文志》中說，李清照有《易安居士文集》七卷、《易安詞》八卷，但已經遺失。現有《漱玉詞》輯本，現存約五十首左右。

🎨 oil painting by Chen Yanning 陳衍寧 (Chinese b. 1945)

[leahsfiction]

to the tune "Like a Dream" - Li Qingzhao

who could forget this sunset from the pavilion by the water--! however, drunk, I don't know my way home. mood gone, my late-returning boat stranded in a sea of lotus -- struggling to get through -- startled up all the birds on the bank.

--

如梦令·常记溪亭日暮

李清照

常记溪亭日暮，沉醉不知归路。 兴尽晚回舟，误入藕花深处。 争渡，争渡，惊起一滩鸥鹭。

this poem is so brief and deceptively simple -- I really struggled to do it justice.

[violettesiren]

In the endless night, in an empty dream, I dreamt

of Chang’an and returning by the old road.

It blazed again with colors, announcing the spring.

The light of the flowers. The image of the moon. Each shone on the other.

The cup, the plate, though carelessly filled, were satisfying.

The wine, the sour plums fulfilled me.

Drunk again, arranging the flowers—

But do not laugh. Man, like Spring, grows old.

Butterflies Long for Flowers by Li Qingzhao (Translated by Wendy Chen)

[laylaslibrary]

"I search for you in my dreams."

-Li Qingzhao, from Complete Poems

[reinaka42]

❝The flute is too slow, the wind too cold, the moon too dim... It's hard to feel at ease.❞ ⛆ 易安难安 / 【忘川风华录】 Wangchuan gifset — 6/?

[drizzlingrain]

[ardent-reflections]

"I search for you in my dreams."

Li Qingzhao

[mae-we-post-poems]

The Wild Swans

Li Qingzhao

translated from the French of Judith Gautier by James Whitall

Before daybreak the breezes whisper

through the trellis at my window;

they interrupt and carry off my dream,

and he of whom I dreamed

vanishes from me.

I climb upstairs

to look from the topmost window,

but with whom? . . .

I remember how I used to stir the fire

with my hairpin of jade

as I am doing now . . .

but the brasier holds nothing but ashes.

I turn to look at the mountain;

there is a thick mist,

a dismal rain,

and I gaze down at the wind-dappled river,

the river that flows past me forever

without bearing away my sorrow.

I have kept the rain of my tears

on the crape of my tunic;

with a gesture I fling these bitter drops

to the wild swans on the river,

that they may be my messengers.

[any-which-way-poetry]

[Episode transcript can be found here.]

李清照 Li Qingzhao 行香子·七夕 Qixi Festival

草际鸣蛩。 惊落梧桐。 正人间、天上愁浓。 云阶月地， 关锁千重。 纵浮槎来，浮槎去，不��逢。

星桥鹊驾， 经年才见， 想离情、别恨难穷。 牵牛织女， 莫是离中。 甚霎儿晴，霎儿雨，霎儿风。

crying crickets by the field's edge shake loose the wutong leaves sorrow lies heavy upon both earth and heaven

cloud stairs between the moon and earth a thousand locks bar the way one raft drifts on the sea one on the heavenly river never meeting

when the magpies draw the star bridge only then can you meet each year your loss and longing must be bottomless

dear cowherd, dear weaver are you still waiting on either side? just now there was sun no, it was rain no, wind

---

Further reading:

#gushiwensday translation by garden-ghoul

The Works of Li Qingzhao, by R. Egan (open access ebook)

English translation (c)2023 Laurence Zhen

[garden-ghoul]

Happy Gushiwensday Shabbes! We have another Li Qingzhao tonight! I've missed her.

Above the sky the starry river turns; night's curtain drops to shade the world of men. My mat and pillow growing cold as tearstains spread and dry-- I rise, undo my robe, and idly wonder, "Ah, is it full, deep night again?" These green-embroidered lotus pods are small; the roots and leaves of golden thread are sparse. Cold weather's like it's always been, and clothing doesn't change-- Only our moods and whims are any different from olden times, when they were just like us.

Original text and notes under the cut.

南歌子·天上星河转

天上星河转，人间帘幕垂。凉生枕簟泪痕滋。起解罗衣聊问、夜何其。 翠贴莲蓬小，金销藕叶稀。旧时天气旧时衣。只有情怀不似、旧家时。

This is in meter because I accidentally wrote the first line in meter and decided hey, why not? Here are some notes. Not a lot, this one was quite simple to translate! You can rely on Li Qingzhao to be pretty straightforward.

night's curtain... men --- literally "the human world; a door-curtain hangs down." I originally read this as calling the human world thin or liminal, marking the space between, I don't know, heaven and the ground beneath.

tearstains spread and dry --- I don't actually thing the evaporating tears are what's making the bedding cold (I think it's cold weather, as alluded to in the second stanza), but I wanted to add this as a transition to make the next line less abrupt; here I'm implying that she's already kind of detached from her crying sesh. She's so over it. What time is it?

full, deep night --- if I had to translate this literally I'd go with "it's very night." lol.

small, sparse --- there's some confusion about whether this is referring to the original embroidery being insufficient or whether it's referring to embroidery wearing out over time. I chose the former because I'm just not clear on how "small" could refer to the latter.

olden times --- the phrase 旧时 "olden times" is actually repeated twice in the line about cold weather and clothing, and comes back in the last half-line as 旧家时 the time of great old families, I guess? I'm not actually sure if this is the same as ancient times; Laurence's interpretation was like, previous times this person has worn these clothes, which I kind of like better, but I'm too lazy to retranslate it...

when they were just like us --- completely invented this bit to fill out the meter. It's a bit of interpretation trying to convey the poet's philosophical mood.

[beyourselfchulanmaria]

Yizheng Ke (b. 1988)

柯一正

Shanghai, China

═════════  ✾   ═════════

『此情無計可消除，才下眉頭，卻上心頭。』

取自～ 宋代 女詞人 李清照 Li Qingzhao 《一剪梅·紅藕香殘玉簟秋》 A Sprig of Plum Blossom/ A Short Separation (I like this one translation closed the real meaning in Chinese poetry. 🍂 Lan~*)

紅藕香殘玉簟秋。輕解羅裳，獨上蘭舟。

雲中誰寄錦書來，雁字回時，月滿西樓。

花自飄零水自流。一種相思，兩處閒愁。

此情無計可消除，才下眉頭，卻上心頭。

The fragrance of the red lotus has faded away.

Autumn chill seeped through my jade-like mat.

I loosened my silk robe to board my magnolia boat alone.

Who would send your messages through the clouds?

I looked up for the wild geese.

But in vain! As they returned in formation,

My west chamber was full of moonlight.

The faded petals are scattered away,

The water is flowing smoothly.

Must we share the same longing in two places?

This love, I am unable to evade:

—For when my eyebrows banish it,

It overruns my heart.

[leahsfiction]

Li Qingzhao - Untitled ("the starry river turns above")

(to the tune "A Southern Song")

the starry river turns above, below, window curtains unroll. on the cooling pillow and mat teardrops multiply. she gets up, changes her gauze robe, wonders aloud what time of night it is. on her robe the jade lotus pods have worn away, the gold lotus leaves have withered. it was the same weather then, she wore the same clothes; the emotions in her heart are the only ones that no longer match the past.

--

HOW does li qingzhao do it!!!!

南歌子·天上星河转

李清照

���上星河转， 人间帘幕垂。 凉生枕簟泪痕滋。 起解罗衣聊问、夜何其。 翠贴莲蓬小， 金销藕叶稀。 旧时天气旧时衣。 只有情怀不似、旧家时。

[typewriter-worries]

[ Text ID: I search for you in my dreams. ]

Li Qingzhao, tr. by Jiaosheng Wang, from Complete Poems; "Tune: The Pertridge Sky,"

[violettesiren]

Late spring, why do I suffer so thinking about hometown things? For a long time develop resentments, sick inside combing my hair over and over. Everyday many roof beam swallows express themselves Only a soft wind brings rose flower fragrances through one curtain. 

Late Spring by Li Qingzhao